01 Изумруд

Boris Alekseyevich Prozorovsky (Russian: Борис Алексеевич Прозоровский; 30 June 1891 in Saint Petersburg, Imperial Russia – 1937 in USSR) was a Russian composer and songwriter who specialized in the genre of Russian romance. Many of his best-known songs ("Rings" "Caravan", "Ships", among others) were originally performed by his protégé and one-time partner Tamara Tsereteli, who recorded some in 1927 (for the Muzpred/Muztrest record label), the year Prozorovsky's career reached its peak.
This song was written in 1920 specifically for Tsereteli when she was 19.
In 1929 the All-Russian Musicians Union's Conference declared the whole genre of Russian romance 'counter-revolutionary'. In 1930 Prozorovsky was arrested and spent three years in Gulag. After the release he continued to perform (now with pianist Daniil Olenin), but in 1937, at the height of the Great Purge, was arrested again and executed.

Вам 19 Лет (You are 19). Anton Belov, voice and guitar. Music by Boris Prozorovsky

Here is one more: "What I must say" by Alexander Vertinsky. In 1917 Vertinsky witnessed the funeral of Russian solders slaughtered by the revolutionaries. He was profoundly moved by their "useless" sacrifice. This song was later banned by the government, but my generation became familiar with it through a version by Boris Grebenshikov--the leader of the legendary underground rock group Aquarium. 

I don’t know why or who needed this,
Who sent them to their deaths with an unquivering hand,
But so uselessly, in such an evil and needless fashion,
They were sent off into their eternal peace.

The uncaring onlookers silently adjusted their fur coats 
And a woman, with a contorted face
Was kissing a dead man’s blue lips
And threw her wedding ring at a priest. 

They threw spruce branches at them, they covered them in dirt,
And later went to their homes to quietly say to each other,
That it is time they put an end to this nonsense, 
And that soon we will all begin to starve. 

And no one even thought of just falling on his knees
And to tell these boys, that in this talent-less country
Even the bright acts of heroism are mere steps
Into an endless abyss toward the unreachable spring.

I don’t know why or who needed this,
Who sent them to their deaths with an unquivering hand,
But so uselessly, in such an evil and needless fashion,
They were sent off into their eternal peace.

То Что Я Должен Сказать (What I must say). Music by A. Vertinsky. Anton Belov, voice and guitar

Anton Belov, Baritone
Oleg Timofeyev, 7-String Guitar

I was bidding you farewell by the train car,
During these final moments, I was full of sadness,
And while we were both consumed by our memories,
You threw me a branch of lilacs.
 
The harsh knell of the bell woke us up from our dreams,
The streams of doubts swept over us.
And as the train left the station, 
In tears, I was kissing the branch of lilacs. 
 
The train disappeared in the grey mist, faraway,
The evening shadows were floating by,
I walked home aimlessly, by a dusty road,
Holding the sole branch of lilacs.
 
I returned home… This evening carried away
All the hopes, all the joys and desires…
This night, the lilac branch bloomed again,
From caresses and tears...

"A Lilac Branch" a Russian Romance by Voloshin

Anton Belov, Baritone
Oleg Timofeyev, Seven-String Guitar

Text by K. Podrevsky

How much I desire to believe, if only once, and for the last time,
Why should I care what would come later?
Love cannot be understood, it cannot be measured,
There, at the bottom of the soul, it is as dark as the river depths.

May this bottomless depth,
May this misty distance
Bind us today
By a think thread,
Your green eyes,
Your lying words,
And this ringing song
Have drove me out of my mind.

The ray of sun will shine through the close shatters,
And my head is still spinning a little bit,
Our recent conversation still rings in my ears,
Like a guitar chord, your words are still ringing.

Refrain…

I don’t need anything, not these belated regrets,
My peace I cannot restore again.
How much I desire, at least once, for a few moments
To look into the depth of the river without fear.

Refrain…

"A Lilac Branch" a Russian Romance by Voloshin

Anton Belov 1

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